Shaped like round berries, the size of tennis balls, it has a thick fibrous outer layer that is usually maroon in color.
The Mangosteen is considered to be a choice tropical fruit and like the durian, native to Malaysia. While the durian is seen as " heaty" for the body, the mangosteen is "cooling". Shaped like round berries, the size of tennis balls, it has a thick fibrous outer layer that is usually maroon in color. It is easy to open by merely pressing between the palms. The juvenile mangosteen fruit, which does not require fertilization to form, first appears as pale green or almost white in the shade of the canopy. As the fruit enlarges over the next 2-3 months, the exocarp color deepens to darker green, indicating synthesis of Chlorophyll during photosynthesis. During this period, the fruit increases in size until its exocarp is 6-8 cm in outside diameter, remaining hard until a final, abrupt ripening stage. The subsurface chemistry of the mangosteen exocarp comprises an array of polyphenolic acids including xanthones and tannins that assure astringency to discourage infestation by insects, fungi, plant viruses, bacteria and animal predation while the fruit is immature. Color changes and softening of the exocarp are natural processes of ripening that indicates the fruit can be eaten and the seeds are finished developing. Mangosteen produces a recalcitrant seed, i.e., perishable, short-lived and must be kept moist to remain viable until germination. Technically nucellar in origin and not the result of fertilization, mangosteen seeds germinate as soon as they are removed from the fruit and die quickly if allowed to dry. Once the developing mangosteen fruit has stopped expanding, chlorophyll synthesis slows as the next color phase begins. Initially streaked with red, the exocarp pigmentation transitions from green to red to dark purple, indicating a final ripening stage. This entire process takes place over a period of 10 days as the edible quality of the fruit peaks. The edible endocarp of the mangosteen is botanically defined as an aril with the same shape and size as a tangerine 4-6 cm in diameter, but is white. The circle of wedge-shaped arils contains 4-8 segments, the larger ones harboring apomictic seeds that are unpalatable unless roasted. On the bottom of the exocarp, raised ridges (remnants of the stigma), arranged like spokes of a wheel, correspond to the number of aril sectionsphoto. Mangosteens reach fruit-bearing in as little as 5-6 years, but more typically require 8-10 years.
|
Product Type:
Other
|
Style:
Fresh
|
Type:
Mangosteen
|